Darkness Exchange
by xEpIcxXxfAiLx
Summary: Sora and Riku are about to embark on a new adventure, but for once Riku will have more focus on what he's been doing. To find an embodiment of Darkness and fight the new enemy they're going to meet some pretty strange characters. SoKai RikuXOC may go to M
1. Chapter 1

Okay, I hope everyone enjoys this because I'm actually kind of impressed that I wrote this, it doesn't look like my usual style because this is about ten times better than how I usually write. I've already gotten some good feedback from people off the internet and I hope that its liked on the internet too. Read and review, if you have any questions or something feel free to PM me. Flames are not appreciated but shall be used for marshmallows or simply thrown back at you with a Molotov cocktail. Constructive reviews are welcome too!

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It was a place much like the Destiny Islands, peaceful, small, and quiet for the most part. It was called Barlow's Haven, a cool forresty place that if you traveled deep enough through the woods you'd find the coast, overlooking the ocean and beach.

The Barlow ran was by a council of respected people in the small town, they weren't necessarily liked by all but they were wise, trusted, and respectable. Or so everyone thought this.

One of the more disliked members was Gent, a single father and considered one of the more stingy and grumpy members of the council. His daughter though was quite the opposite, despite her quiet demeanor, was an imaginative girl with strong will as well as a strong physique. One day dark beings called the Nothing appeared, standing at the edge of town after a long, hot day of work.

Gent was taken by the Nothing, as well as several other members, the disappearances continued for several days without any sign of yielding. The remaining council people gathered to try and stop the chaos. But they found no solution.

"Fight it." Came an almost inaudible voice, the members turned to see Chey, the daughter of Gent, and only the tender age of sixteen. To have lost her only direct family member... The council members thought the girl only said this for the loss of her father. The girl shook her head at the dilemma and repeated herself before turning on her heel and walking to the edge of town.

Many passed by Chey and tried to convince her to go home, save herself and not lose her life like her father. He had been at the edge of town crating fruit when he had disappeared so the edges of town were now feared by most. To all she quietly declined from the advice with apologies.

As the sun had almost hid itself among the trees, the sky had turned a deathly purple color, a bad omen to all. A woman close to her father begged Chey to go inside,

"I do not wish to see you die child!" The woman sobbed, bitter sorrow in her very being. Chey just smiled,

"I feel the same way, I don't wish for you or any of the other people in Barlow to die. I want to save you from the very thing you fear, allow me my stubborn attitude and let me do what is needed." Chey told the woman before her smile slipped slightly, revealing the seriousness of her words,

"Now please go home to your family, to see them now should be priority with the times we are in..." The woman flung Chey a look that contained worry, maybe a bit of fear before scurrying away to see her children for what may have been the last time.

At midnight the townspeople heard a loud series of clanging noises coming from the edge of town where Chey had stood her ground from other people. Families peeked out of their windows and saw what they feared. The missing council members had returned but not as themselves. They were now just a grotesque remembrance of the people they once were. All signs of their humanity were gone; their irises and retina were now a black as onyx, the pupils had become white with rage and savagery, shot through with tints of gold or a faded green color; their skin was now grey. Their ears had increased in length, resembling those of a shadow heartless, their limbs now savage and oblivious tools of death, famine, and destruction.

Chey stood where she had all day, watching the former people curiously. When they lurched at her to attack she did not run nor duck.

Chey swiftly pulled a long staff off her back, two long blades sticking out from each end that were made of a special metal only found in the mountains of Barlow's hold, the mountain that was Barlow's residing point. The metal is called Grethalite, what makes it special is the forming of it. Grethalite is harvested from the center of the mountain, and in its natural state has a horrible odor that can kill some, but if ingested in any shape or form kills as fast as cyanide.

Chey battled against the creatures, former people, but eventually they became too much for her to handle and started swarming the village. No one could mistake the shadowed mist that that surrounded small hearts that went into the earth, not into the sky towards the heavens.

The men of the town brought out their weapons and joined Chey in the streets. Most of these men died fighting for their families and many of those families died too in all of the chaos. Chey and two young men were the last of the fighters left standing. Ten or less Nothings stood around them, and these were the only Nothings left, if they died the remaining towns people might live.

The two young men, Leif and Dawn accepted their fate and charged four of the Nothings head on, Chey afterwards assumed the two to be dead. Chey stood before the last three Nothings, one was her father. It pained her to see his body and soul defiled by such evil, not darkness but restless evil. She killed him first. But the last Nothing. Something was peculiar about it, it held an intelligence that the others had not. It was the main Nothing, the others had all been puppets to distract others from the leader of the pack as it played games with its opponents head. An empty smile swept across its face fiving it an eerie look of fate. Before Chey had a chance to see it move the Nothing gave a shriek of eerie laughter and shot something through her chest. With a last feeling of searing white pain Chey hacked the Nothing in half with her weapon.

The girl woke to nothing, total calming Oblivion.

_"What do you seek?" _Came an eerily calm voice, reminding Chey of her father. Chey wiped away stray tears from her cheeks with a dirty hand. Chey then realized she was naked. Then she noticed the bizarre scar from the strange energy that was shot through her by the Nothing. It was a crude looking heart like the heart seen in the Villain's Vale or the one that Riku used to wear. But this one contained more lines dissecting it, creating a small black hole in the center, there was no color in it but shades of black and grey that faded into the hole. This must be the sign of a Nothing. Chey looked up into the darkness that surrounded her, a look of panic in her eyes.

"_What do you seek?" _The voice repeated.

"I don't want to be a _Nothing_!" Chey cried, "I just wanted to save the town! I wanted to live!" She shouted into the Oblivion, anger starting to slip into her voice, taking over any of the fear or panic she had left.

_"Very well, I will do what you ask to see what you make of it." _The voice decided, It granted Chey an eternal sleep or immortality so that when the young warrior girl was needed again, she would be ready to fight the evil. Only once since then has she been called upon. She may be needed once more. But to do so you must also know where she rests in her immortal slumber, for summoning her is a price to pay."

Sora blinked a few times after King Mickey finished reading the story. Sora had actually heard this particular story before, but it was just a well known fairy tail in Destiny Island right?

"If this story is true, why didn't she save the world from the Heartless? Why me?" Sora asked the King, sounding a bit whiny.

Mickey laughed at the Keybarers complaints.

"Because, she doesn't use a Keyblade and that's what the world needed most." Mickey explained as if it were obvious enough. "She's also very difficult to locate. Chey's resting ground is always in a different place every time she's called on and every fifty years." Mickey laughed slightly,

"The only thing we know about how they're chosen is that they're always similar but in completely different places, meaning different worlds. Its hard to find her so that people will hopefully learn to cope with their problems on their own and get stronger." Sora still had a very confused look on his face, it was becoming a permanent addition to his facial features.

"But if she's the one needed now then why did you call on me your Majesty?" Sora asked, making no sense of the situation at hand.

"Chey is unstable, being so detached from life and connected to the darkness. In our current affairs she is a tool you'll have to harness to defeat the Nothing.. She has the same kind of dark power as Riku's, one that can be used for good, but she's had centuries to perfect the art. That and Riku tries not to use darkness as much so he's come upon the path of Dawn." Mickey explained, becoming slightly breathless at the end of the whole ramble.

Sora absorbed all of the new information and something hit him,

"Wait, so she's an embodiment of darkness but she's not evil?"

"Exactly." Riku said, popping up next to Sora, "Not all darkness is evil, you know tat because of me Sora." Riku said, pointing his thumb back at his own chest.

"So Riku, Donald, Goofy and I have to fight the Nothings with the help of this immortal chick?"

"No, you'll be working with a slightly different team this time but Riku will be coming with you as a team member." Mickey answered before Minnie walked up next to him, Donald, Goofy and Daisy in tow. Minnie handed the King an envelope which he opened and read before whispering to his Queen. With a clearing of his throat Mickey turned to Sora and Riku who stood at attention.

"A gummi ship is waiting for you two in the hanger, the coordinates for your destination are pre-set and everything you'll need has already been loaded. Good luck you guys." Mickey informed them and led them to the hanger even though Sora already knew where it was.

"I hope she isn't too hard to find, but here's a list of possibilities. Be careful Riku, Sora." Mickey warned them, his voice was light and squeaky but his eyes were grave and fearful about the new journey Sora would be on.

Sora sat down in his usual seat on the Gummi ship, waving at Kairi who was standing next to Queen with a disgruntled look on her face, she had wanted to come with but the Queen had insisted she stay and start learning to use her power. King Mickey hadn't told him how Nothings were created, or if it came to it was there a way to kill Chey or was she really immortal?

"I wonder if Kairi will be alright while we're gone." Sora wondered aloud.

Riku laughed,

"I'm not sure, as long as she doesn't get kidnapped again." Sora grinned,

"Or hurt herself with her own klutziness." The both of them laughed at the thought of their friend tripping over a dust bunny or a hair brush.

The laughing subsided so Sora pulled out the paper Mickey had left him for finding his team and Chey,

"Radiant Gardens huh? Guess the Restoration Committee is going to be helping us." Riku mumbled to himself while reading over Sora's shoulder.

"I guess... There's a few worlds on here that I've never been to... Hey! Destiny Islands is on here as a possible hiding place!" Sora exclaimed but it actually made sense, being as this story was common on the island and Barlow's Haven was supposed to be similar to Destiny Islands right? So why wouldn't Chey's heart choose something close to home? Sora rubbed at his eyes and decided it would be a good time to take a nap.


	2. Finding the Restoration Committee

Hallo! I am finally back with the second chapter, I finally got over the lack of reviews from the first chapter and all my other stories... Heehee. There will be a new person in the story today, the shadow girl, I'm having a little contest to see if any of you can guess who she is, the options are:

a: She's Riku's subconscious, his female half.

b: Riku is merely insane in this fic and needs a friend

c: Chey

By the way if anyone is confused as to how her name is pronounced, it's said like the word shy. Please read and review! Oh yeah, sorry if there are words here and there that are mixed up or a word is missing, I'm not used to writing something on paper before typing it up.

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"Wa... SORA!" The words broke through Sora's dreamless sleep and someone shoved his shoulder.

"Hey Sora, wake up already wouldja?"

Sora opened his eyes groggily and wiped away a line of drool going down his chin.

"Sleep well?" Riku smirked, "You were saying some pretty weird things in your sleep Sora." The boy grinned mischievously at his friend, "Chey and Kairi huh? Geez, you don't even know what Chey looks like." Riku laughed at Sora's chagrin, his ears turning red.

"Why can't I ever get the girl?" Riku teased, but he slowly dropped his grin.

"Ready to go?" He asked, Sora nodded and they got off the ship.

Radiant Garden was bigger than last time Sora was here. More buildings had been erected, more people had come back and families had been started; businesses had also popped up in the square.

"This is gonna be fun..." Sora muttered, it was going to be confusing trying to find Merlin's house in all this mess. He hadn't liked it the last time and he doubted he'd like it any better this time.

"Sora?!" Came a high female voice, full of excitement. Sora spun around, a young woman with short black hair was spazzing ruining her ninja-y effect.

"Yuffie! Am I glad to see you!" Sora spazzed with her and frankly, Riku was embarrassed to be standing next to Sora, his spazzy friend on crack.

"Hey, who's your friend?" Yuffie asked, looking Riku up and down with a curious look; Sora looked over at Riku,

"This is Riku, one of the friends I was looking for when we met." Sora introduced his friend, glad that this time he was introducing him and not asking if anybody had seen him around.

"There aren't any problems are there?" Yuffie asked almost immediately after remembering that if Sora was around then something big was going down. Sora grimaced,

"Sorta, we should round everyone up so I can explain it, and it's only a rough explanation that the King gave me." He said and Yuffie nodded before showing them to Merlin's where she would gather the rest of the committee.

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_~Somewhere Else~_

Dust and cob webs had collected around a small, balled up figure. Smoky black locks of hair were covered so thoroughly in dust that it looked grey, the locks hung down around its face, medium pink lips set in an emotionless expression that did but did not suit her. Her arms were wrapped around her legs as if she were in some sort of pain, her hands fiercely gripping the sides of her shirt. Her eye brows scrunched up and she sucked in a deep breath of air. The oblivion force surrounded her body, bringing motion and the need for air back to it. Soon she would be found, but she was already needed.

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_~`Merlin's House`~_

Sora sat down in the old familiar house with ease while Riku on the other hand was a bit uneasy.

What would these people make of him? Someone they had been against in the first of Sora's journey. On the outside he might look fine, but on the inside he was still struggling with the loss of his power over darkness. It could be compared to an addict going through withdrawals.

They were on a mission to find an embodiment of darkness. What would happen if he slipped back into the darkness? Would he really be able to handle it like everyone thought?

"Are you going to be okay Riku?" Riku looked at Sora who had a reassuring smile. Riku nodded quietly, pushing his fears away from his mind. If he didn't think about it then it would stay away from possibility right?

"Well are you just gonna stand there or introduce yourself?" The question shook Riku from his thoughts and made him notice the people that had joined the room. A girl with brown hair dressed in all pink, Yuffie he remembered from earlier, a man with brown hair a bit past his shoulders and a scar between his eyes, and a man with blonde hair stood in front of Riku with hands on his hips.

"Well?" The blond man asked again. Riku observed all of these things again before glancing at Sora who was quietly laughing in the back.

"I'm Riku." He finally answered, keeping his face in a show of bluntness similar to the man with the scar. The blond nodded,

"I'm Cid Highwind, nice ta finally meet'cha kid."

The girl from earlier, Yuffie, grinned at him,

"I'm the Great Ninja Yuffie!" She exclaimed, pointing a gloved hand at his face for emphasis, Riku had the nagging sensation that she and Sora got along just fine. She made a gesture towards the brunette man,

"That's Squall." She giggled when the man groaned,

"For the last time Yuffie, my name is Leon." Leon said in an irritated tone. The gentle looking girl with brown hair smiled,

"And my name is Aerith Gainesborough, it's nice to meet you Riku." Riku looked around at all the people and made his final decision until he knew them better. The whole Radiant Garden Restoration Committee was weird.

"So what's the news Sora?" Leon asked, immediately getting to the point after introductions.

Sora lost his goofy look for one with more seriousness.

"Something called the nothingness is taking over sections of worlds and eating away at the light." Sora explained with a small mental shudder.

"The King asked Riku and I," He said with a motion towards Riku, "To assemble a team to go find Chey, an embodiment of darkness that was created centuries ago to fight the Nothing." Sora finished and looked at the faces of the committee. Their faces were confused if not a bit surprised. All of them but Leon.

"The Nothing isn't foreign to us Sora, neither is Chey. You see..." Leon paused and scratched the back of his neck.

"Barlow's Haven is the other half of Radiant Garden, but Barlow was deserted by the remaining villagers of Barlow after the attack. They then came to this area away from the ocean and the forest to start Radiant Garden." Leon finished, not really wanting to finish the rest of the story.

Yuffie gave Leon a small smile, trying to comfort her friend so he could continue.

"The two last men fighting along with Chey, Leif and Dawn... Leif was my ancestor, and Dawn was the ancestor of someone we're all pretty familiar with..." Leon's eyes darkened at the thought of this someone.

"Dawn is Ansem's ancestor. Dawn went of to be proclaimed as the Kind of our thriving civilization. By the time Dawn passed away, what was once a pack of decrepit villagers forging to survive was a large township. Lots of families and businesses." He finished and leaned up against the wall with his eyes closed.

Sora blinked and tried to absorb all the information that had just been let free into the air. Riku seemed to be doing the same thing but with more success. Sora knew one thing, Leon would be on their team for this journey if the King hadn't already asked him.

"Sorry I'm late." A familiar voice rang out after a poof. Everyone start fanning away the smoke while trying to stop coughing. Leon did one better and opened the door to give the house more air circulation. Sora and Riku wrinkled their noses from the faint stench of sulfur that was left over from the smoke.

A blond man, a few years younger looking than Leon stood with an old wizard wearing blue robes.

"Cloud." Leon said in a familiar sort of way with a short nod, acknowledging his friend.

"Long time no see." Cloud nodded towards Leon in the same fashion before looking at Riku and Sora who were just quietly watching the exchange.

"I want in." Cloud stated, Sora grinned,

"I was hoping you would, because these nothing creatures are supposed to be a lot stronger than heartless, they're only a little bit worse than Nobodies when it comes to fighting but the way they kill is worse."

Cloud nodded and looked at Riku, measuring him out from head to toe. Cloud looked at Leon and gave him a slight nod.

"Well, now that introductions are over how about I made some lemonade?" Aerith offered and shooed everyone to the table while she fixed said lemonade. Leon looked depressed and poor Yuffie looked terrified at the prospect of the lemonade.

Sora leaned over and whispered to Cid,

"What's wrong with everyone?" Cid chuckled,

"Aerith isn't known for being that great of a cook, let alone good at making drinks. She generally mistakes the salt for sugar." Sora made a face and Cid just smirked,

"Leon doesn't have the heart to tell her to stay away from the kitchen."

So they suffered through the terrifying experience of food made by Aerith.

* * *

_/*Later that Night*/_

"So when are we going to start searching?"

Sora turned around and saw Riku sitting in a chair and Leon leaning in the door way. Sora sat down on the bed he'd be using for the night,

"Probably within the next day or so, so that everyone can get whatever supplies they might need. There's no telling if they'll have what you need in the next world or the one after that." Sora said with a thoughtful look and smiled slightly,

"But I'd like to leave as soon as possible because anything could happen." Sora's smile fell a bit.

"A world could disappear and there's no telling if it'll come back or not." He finished, a solemn look in his eyes as he thought back to how he felt when the Destiny Islands disappeared. It had crushed him to think that his home, his family, and his friends were gone. If it were possible for Destiny Islands to disappear again, Sora didn't want to find out.

"We'll leave tomorrow afternoon then." Leon said and pushed away from the door frame and left to tell Cloud when they would depart.

"Which world should we search first?" Riku asked Sora, who frowned and looked at the list in his hands.

"I think we should check out Beasts world first, there's a large forest behind his castle. In the story, the village was in a forest right?" Sora tried to reason with himself more than Riku, but Riku nodded anyways.

"So she might be there in a cave or something. We can ask Beast if he knows anything about one."

Riku nodded solemnly and tapped Destiny Islands on the list,

"I think we should check the islands after Beast's Castle, I know you were thinking the same thing Sora." Riku said in a knowing tone, Sora just smiled at his friend.

"Yeah, I was." Riku smirked,

"Probably thinking about Kairi too." He added mischievously, though in an airy tone that made a slightly more subtle tease. Sora nodded dreamily at his friends comment,

"Yeah..." He sighed then blinked, "What?! Hey! Don't trick me like that Riku!" Sora whined, blood rushing to his face making him feel like a tomato that had been left in the sun too long. Riku just laughed at his friend and waved it off before walking to the room he was using for the night.

"Night Sora." He said as he walked off, he heard a loud yawn and a sleepy:

"Night Riku..." Riku walked into the bedroom and closed the door before lying down on the bed, his arms tucked behind his head.

"Riku... You are a fool." He mumbled to himself and fell into a full sleep.

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_`/ Riku's Dream /`_

_(A/N: Most of what Riku says in this part are thoughts, being as he's in his own mind, there's no reason to use speech meaning no quotation marks.)_

_Where am I? _Riku thought to himself and scratched the back of his head.

_"I don't know, where do you think you are?"_ A female voice asked with some amusement in her tone.

_Well, if I'm asleep I guess I'm in my own mind._ Riku determined but nothing changed in the grayish-blue abyss he was floating in. The voice chuckled and a black figure appeared making a tsking noise.

_"You're jealous of him aren't you? That's ironic." _She laughed, wait... When had he decided that the voice was a girl?

_"Well obviously you just decided that I am indeed female." _She said quietly, and despite the fact that her whole body was swallowed in shadow Riku could tell she was smiling at his confusion.

_What's so ironic? And I'm not jealous of anyone. _Riku thought in a defensive tone and the girl laughed again, louder this time.

_"Aww! How cute, you're pouting!" _She teased and Riku's face grew slightly pink. With another chuckle the shadow girl turned to face him, still in complete shadow.

_"Of course it's ironic that you're jealous, Sora has always felt you're always one better than him. Only have there been a few times when Sora felt equal with you. Like when he got the keyblade back from you." _She stated like it was matter of fact. Riku opened his mouth to say something but she made a shushing noise, Riku was startled to be shushed in his own mind.

_"Just let me finish Riku, then you can go on your own little tangent." _She stopped and apparently gave him a look, Riku nodded to be silent till she was done.

_"You are jealous of Sora because he has Kairi, and in the beginning you liked her in the same manner that Sora does. Or you sort of did. It was more so because Sora wanted her, you did too."_ She wriggled her hips with a laugh,

_"But you only wanted her physically, mentally Kairi is like a little sister to you."_ She explained and Riku's face became a darker shade of pink than before.

_"To put it plain and simple Riku, you're jealous of love. You want to feel that way too." _The shadow girl paused and Riku could sense a brief sadness washing over her before it disappeared.

_"But you don't know how..." _She held her chin between her thumb and index finger in thought.

_"You're afraid of it failing, afraid that you'll find a girl and she won't like you in the way you like her." _The girl said sadly, as if she knew the feeling from personal experience. Riku scowled,

_So what if I'm afraid? At least I can still feel! I still have a heart! _His thoughts rang out as a shout, but it sounded broken, as if he wasn't completely sure about whether or not he was right about that. His feelings at least.

Riku looked up searching for an oncoming noise that was starting to echo painfully in his head.

_"It's time for you to wake up," _She said, her tone was laughing, _"Sora and the others are waiting for you."_ Riku kept looking up for a few more seconds before looking down at where the shadow girl's face would be if she had one.

"Will you be here tomorrow night?" He asked cautiously, not sure whether or not to welcome her or be wary of her presence. The shadow girl let out a small, sad laugh,

_"I'm not sure, but generally yes, I am always here Riku, even if neither of us can register the fact that the other is present." _

"Geez Sora! I thought you said this kid was a light sleeper!" The voice of Yuffie tore through Riku's subconscious, leaving him blinking away sleep before emitting a loud yawn.

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So what do ya'll think? Any good? Sorry it took awhile to get the second chapter typed up, I'm a lazy bum more so in the summer than I am in the school year which is pretty bad. But please, if you're reading this please review! It could just be a one word review, and yes I am this desperate for reviews people! My other stories suck! Which is sad... Make the review button happy if you don't like me, the button needs a friend and every time you click the review button it gets a new friend. Eheheheh... I'll quit being so pathetic now. Read and Review! If you think you know which one the Shadow girl is, say who you think it is in the review and you might find something special for yourself in the next chapter!


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